Salad Niçoise with Potatoes

Dressing:

1. Peel the garlic, cut in half lengthwise, and add to about 400 ml (14 oz) extra virgin olive oil. Llet marinate for at least a few hours.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the Dijon mustard, capers, thyme, white wine vinegar, and garlic infused olive oil and season with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Whisk the ingredients together and set aside.

Salad:

1. Place the potatoes in a medium sized pot, cover with cold salted water, and bring to the boil. Boil for about 3-5 minutes, strain, and set aside.
2. Cut each tomato into 4.
3. Place the tomato, cucumber, capsicum, beans, onion, olives, and basil leaves in a large bowl.
4. In a non-stick pan, place a few tbsps of olive oil and fry the potatoes until golden on all sides. Season with sea salt and cracked pepper and add to the other vegetables in the bowl.
5. To poach the eggs, place 6 cups of water (1 ½ L) with 1 tbsp vinegar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Once boiling, remove from the heat, add the eggs one at a time, and return to the heat. When the whites are fully cooked and the yolks still soft, remove from the heat, drain off any excess water and set aside.
6. If using tinned tuna, drain the tuna, add to the bowl, and break into large chunks.
7. If using fresh tuna: wipe the potato pan clean and sear the tuna in some olive oil (approx 1 minute for very beautifully rare).
8. Drizzle the contents of the bowl with some of the prepared dressing.
9. Place the tossed salad onto plates, top with the seared tuna steaks if using them, and top with the still warm poached eggs and 2 anchovies each. Make a small incision in each yolk to allow the yolk to start running out and serve immediately with some crusty French baguettes.
10. The above presentation can be altered for a more rustic look by cutting the tuna into cubes before searing and tossing it with the salad.